Ku Klux Klan Act: Difference between revisions
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| signeddate = April 20, 1871 |
| signeddate = April 20, 1871 |
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| amendments = |
| amendments = |
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| SCOTUS cases = {{ubl|''[[United States v. Harris]]'', {{ussc|106|629|1883}}|''[[Bogan v. Scott-Harris]]'', {{ussc|523|44|1997}} |
| SCOTUS cases = {{ubl|''[[United States v. Harris]]'', {{ussc|106|629|1883}}|''[[Bogan v. Scott-Harris]]'', {{ussc|523|44|1997}} See also the "Civil rights liability under Section 1983" section at [[Template:US14thAmendment]]}}. |
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The '''Enforcement Act of 1871''' ({{USStat|17|13}}), also known as the '''Ku Klux Klan Act''', '''Third Enforcement Act''',<ref name="Davis" /> '''Third Ku Klux Klan Act''',<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871 {{!}} US House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives|url=https://history.house.gov/Historical-Highlights/1851-1900/hh_1871_04_20_KKK_Act/|access-date=2021-02-16|website=history.house.gov|language=en}}</ref> '''Civil Rights Act of 1871''', or '''Force Act of 1871''',<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/generic/EnforcementActs.htm|title=U.S. Senate: The Enforcement Acts of 1870 and 1871|website=www.senate.gov}}</ref> is an [[Act of Congress|Act of the United States Congress]] that was intended to combat the paramilitary [[vigilantism]] of the [[Ku Klux Klan]]. The act made certain acts committed by private persons federal offenses including conspiring to deprive citizens of their rights to hold office, serve on juries, or enjoy the equal protection of law. The Act authorized the [[President of the United States|President]] to deploy federal troops to counter the Klan and to suspend the writ of ''[[habeas corpus]]'' to make arrests without charge.<ref>{{Cite book|last = Keyssar| first = Alexander| title = The Right to Vote: The Contested History of Democracy in the United States |publisher = Hachette UK| isbn = 978-0-465-01014-1| date = 2009-06-30|quote=Acting as the military, or paramilitary, arm of the Democratic Party, organizations such as the Ku Klux Klan mounted violent campaigns against blacks who sought to vote or hold office, as well as their white Republican allies. In 1870 alone, hundreds of freedmen were killed, and many more badly hurt, by politicized vigilante violence...The national government did not stand by idly. In May 1870, stretching the limits of its constitutional powers, congress passed an Enforcement Act that made interference with voting a federal offense...This first enforcement act was followed by others including the Ku Klux Klan Act, which, among its provisions, authorized the president to deploy the army to protect the electoral process. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EUg4DgAAQBAJ}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book| last = Blackburn| first = Robin| title = The Reckoning: From the Second Slavery to Abolition, 1776-1888|publisher = Verso Books| isbn = 978-1-80429-341-6| date = 2024-02-20 |page=352 |quote=White vigilante groups intervened on the side of white employers to keep down wages and reduce the share of the crop claimed by black tenant farmers. Black schoolhouses were burned, and across the South hundreds of Republican activists were killed in the years 1868-71. Republicans in Congress responded to this wave of terrorist intimidation by passing civil rights legislation backed up by federal force in 1870 and 1871. The so-called Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871 empowered the president and army to crack down on the Klan; the suspension of habeas corpus and use of Federal Cavalry led to the arrest of thousands of Klansmen. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gp2-EAAAQBAJ}}</ref> |
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The act was passed by the [[42nd United States Congress]] and signed into law by President [[Ulysses S. Grant]] on April 20, 1871. The act was the last of three [[Force Acts|Enforcement Acts]] passed by Congress from 1870 to 1871 during the [[Reconstruction Era]] to combat attacks upon the [[Voting rights in the United States#Poor whites and free African Americans|suffrage rights]] of [[African Americans]]. The statute has been subject to only minor changes since then, but has been the subject of voluminous interpretation by courts. |
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This legislation was asked for by President Grant and passed within one month of when he sent the request to Congress. Grant's request was a result of the reports he was receiving of widespread racial threats in the [[Deep South]], particularly in [[South Carolina]]. He felt that he needed to have his authority broadened before he could effectively intervene. After the act's passage, the president had the power for the first time to both suppress state disorders on his own initiative and to suspend the writ of habeas corpus. Grant did not hesitate to use this authority on numerous occasions during his presidency, and as a result the KKK was completely dismantled (ending the "first Klan" era) and did not resurface in any meaningful way until the beginning of the 20th century.<ref>{{cite book |last=Scaturro |first=Frank |title=President Grant Reconsidered |year=1999 |publisher=Madison Books |place=Lanham, MD |isbn=1-56833-132-0 |pages=71–72}}</ref> |
This legislation was asked for by President Grant and passed within one month of when he sent the request to Congress. Grant's request was a result of the reports he was receiving of widespread racial threats in the [[Deep South]], particularly in [[South Carolina]]. He felt that he needed to have his authority broadened before he could effectively intervene. After the act's passage, the president had the power for the first time to both suppress state disorders on his own initiative and to suspend the writ of ''habeas corpus''. Grant did not hesitate to use this authority on numerous occasions during his presidency, and as a result the KKK was completely dismantled (ending the "first Klan" era) and did not resurface in any meaningful way until the beginning of the 20th century.<ref>{{cite book |last=Scaturro |first=Frank |title=President Grant Reconsidered |year=1999 |publisher=Madison Books |place=Lanham, MD |isbn=1-56833-132-0 |pages=71–72}}</ref> |
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Several of the act's provisions still exist today as [[Codification (law)|codified]] statutes. The most important of these is '''{{UnitedStatesCode|42|1983}}''': ''Civil action for deprivation of rights''. It is the most widely used [[civil rights]] enforcement statute, allowing people to sue in [[civil law (common law)|civil court]] over civil rights violations. |
Several of the act's provisions still exist today as [[Codification (law)|codified]] statutes. The most important of these is '''{{UnitedStatesCode|42|1983}}''': ''Civil action for deprivation of rights''. It is the most widely used [[civil rights]] enforcement statute, allowing people to sue in [[civil law (common law)|civil court]] over civil rights violations. |
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===Use during Reconstruction=== |
===Use during Reconstruction=== |
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After the Civil War, President Ulysses S. Grant conducted an aggressive—and ultimately successful—campaign against the Ku Klux Klan and its offshoots (such as the Knights of the White Camellia) from the 1860s to the 1870s. Grant deployed federal soldiers to arrest Klan members, enlisted U.S. attorneys to try their cases, supported Congressional legislation like the '''Ku Klux Klan Act''', and organized federal judges to oversee Klan trials.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Jones |first1=Seth |title=The Rise of Far-Right Extremism in the United States |url=https://www.csis.org/analysis/rise-far-right-extremism-united-states |website=www.csis.org |date=November 7, 2018 |publisher=Center for Strategic & International Studies |access-date=18 June 2019}}</ref> Under the Klan Act during Reconstruction, federal troops, rather than state militias, were used to enforce the law, and Klansmen were prosecuted in federal court, where juries were sometimes predominantly black. Hundreds of Klan members were fined or imprisoned, and habeas corpus was suspended in nine counties in South Carolina. These efforts were so successful that the Klan was destroyed in South Carolina and decimated throughout the rest of the former Confederacy, where it had already been in decline for several years. The Klan was not to exist again until its renewal in 1915. During its brief existence, however, the "first era" Klan did achieve many of its goals in the South, such as denying [[Voting rights in the United States|voting rights]] to Southern blacks.<ref name="Trelease 1971 387ff"/> |
After the Civil War, President Ulysses S. Grant conducted an aggressive—and ultimately successful—campaign against the Ku Klux Klan and its offshoots (such as the Knights of the White Camellia) from the 1860s to the 1870s. Grant deployed federal soldiers to arrest Klan members, enlisted U.S. attorneys to try their cases, supported Congressional legislation like the '''Ku Klux Klan Act''', and organized federal judges to oversee Klan trials.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Jones |first1=Seth |title=The Rise of Far-Right Extremism in the United States |url=https://www.csis.org/analysis/rise-far-right-extremism-united-states |website=www.csis.org |date=November 7, 2018 |publisher=Center for Strategic & International Studies |access-date=18 June 2019}}</ref> Under the Klan Act during Reconstruction, federal troops, rather than state militias, were used to enforce the law, and Klansmen were prosecuted in federal court, where juries were sometimes predominantly black. Hundreds of Klan members were fined or imprisoned, and ''habeas corpus'' was suspended in nine counties in South Carolina. These efforts were so successful that the Klan was destroyed in South Carolina and decimated throughout the rest of the former Confederacy, where it had already been in decline for several years. The Klan was not to exist again until its renewal in 1915. During its brief existence, however, the "first era" Klan did achieve many of its goals in the South, such as denying [[Voting rights in the United States|voting rights]] to Southern blacks.<ref name="Trelease 1971 387ff"/> |
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In its early history, under the Grant Administration, this act was used, along with the Force Act, to bring to justice those who were violating the Civil Rights of newly freed African Americans. After the end of the Grant Administration, and the dismantling of Reconstruction under [[Rutherford B. Hayes]], enforcement of the Act fell into disuse and few cases were brought under the statute for almost a hundred years. |
In its early history, under the Grant Administration, this act was used, along with the Force Act, to bring to justice those who were violating the Civil Rights of newly freed African Americans. After the end of the Grant Administration, and the dismantling of Reconstruction under [[Rutherford B. Hayes]], enforcement of the Act fell into disuse and few cases were brought under the statute for almost a hundred years. |
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In December 2020, the [[NAACP]] along with the Michigan Welfare Rights Organization and a group of Detroit voters sued [[presidency of Donald Trump|U.S. President Donald Trump]] along with his presidential campaign and the [[Republican National Committee]] under the act as well as the [[Voting Rights Act of 1965|Voting Rights Act]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.clickondetroit.com/decision-2020/2020/11/22/michigan-lawsuit-claims-trump-campaign-is-attempting-to-disenfranchise-black-voters/|title=Michigan lawsuit claims Trump Campaign is attempting to disenfranchise Black voters|author=Larry Spruill|publisher=ClickOnDetroit.com|date=2020-11-21|access-date=2021-02-24}}</ref><ref name="indy-2020-12-22">{{Cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-news-live-election-challenge-congress-biden-b1777471.html|title=Trump Sued for Breaking KKK Act|date=December 22, 2020|website=The Independent|access-date=December 22, 2020|archive-date=December 22, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201222212630/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-news-live-election-challenge-congress-biden-b1777471.html|url-status=live |first1= Joe |last1= Sommerlad |first2= Gino |last2= Spocchia |first3= Oliver |last3= O'Connell }}</ref><ref name="hill-2020-12-22">{{Cite web |url=https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/531277-naacp-files-suit-accusing-trump-gop-of-violating-kkk-act |access-date=December 22, 2020 |archive-date=December 22, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201222212630/https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/531277-naacp-files-suit-accusing-trump-gop-of-violating-kkk-act |url-status=live |work= The Hill |first= Harper |last= Neidig |date= December 22, 2020 |title= NAACP files suit accusing Trump, GOP of violating KKK Act }}</ref> According to the lawsuit, President Trump and the Republican Party "coordinated conspiracy to disenfranchise Black voters" through [[Attempts to overturn the 2020 United States presidential election|legal actions intended to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election]] in [[2020 United States presidential election in Michigan|Michigan]], [[2020 United States presidential election in Georgia|Georgia]] and [[2020 United States presidential election in Pennsylvania|Pennsylvania]] via "intimidation and coercion of election officials and volunteers".<ref name="indy-2020-12-22"/> |
In December 2020, the [[NAACP]] along with the Michigan Welfare Rights Organization and a group of Detroit voters sued [[presidency of Donald Trump|U.S. President Donald Trump]] along with his presidential campaign and the [[Republican National Committee]] under the act as well as the [[Voting Rights Act of 1965|Voting Rights Act]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.clickondetroit.com/decision-2020/2020/11/22/michigan-lawsuit-claims-trump-campaign-is-attempting-to-disenfranchise-black-voters/|title=Michigan lawsuit claims Trump Campaign is attempting to disenfranchise Black voters|author=Larry Spruill|publisher=ClickOnDetroit.com|date=2020-11-21|access-date=2021-02-24}}</ref><ref name="indy-2020-12-22">{{Cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-news-live-election-challenge-congress-biden-b1777471.html|title=Trump Sued for Breaking KKK Act|date=December 22, 2020|website=The Independent|access-date=December 22, 2020|archive-date=December 22, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201222212630/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-news-live-election-challenge-congress-biden-b1777471.html|url-status=live |first1= Joe |last1= Sommerlad |first2= Gino |last2= Spocchia |first3= Oliver |last3= O'Connell }}</ref><ref name="hill-2020-12-22">{{Cite web |url=https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/531277-naacp-files-suit-accusing-trump-gop-of-violating-kkk-act |access-date=December 22, 2020 |archive-date=December 22, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201222212630/https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/531277-naacp-files-suit-accusing-trump-gop-of-violating-kkk-act |url-status=live |work= The Hill |first= Harper |last= Neidig |date= December 22, 2020 |title= NAACP files suit accusing Trump, GOP of violating KKK Act }}</ref> According to the lawsuit, President Trump and the Republican Party "coordinated conspiracy to disenfranchise Black voters" through [[Attempts to overturn the 2020 United States presidential election|legal actions intended to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election]] in [[2020 United States presidential election in Michigan|Michigan]], [[2020 United States presidential election in Georgia|Georgia]] and [[2020 United States presidential election in Pennsylvania|Pennsylvania]] via "intimidation and coercion of election officials and volunteers".<ref name="indy-2020-12-22"/> |
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In February 2021, the NAACP and law firm [[Cohen Milstein]] filed another lawsuit invoking the act on behalf of U.S. Representative [[Bennie Thompson]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-03-24|title=Trump and Trump Jr hire lawyer to defend them in Capitol riot lawsuit|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-hire-lawyer-capitol-riot-lawsuit-b1821885.html|access-date=2021-03-28|website=The Independent|language=en}}</ref> Other congresspersons were to join the litigation as plaintiffs.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Karni|first=Annie|date=2021-02-16|title=N.A.A.C.P. Sues Trump and Giuliani Over Election Fight and Jan. 6 Riot|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/16/us/politics/naacp-sues-trump-giuliani-proud-boys-capitol.html|access-date=2021-02-16|issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-02-16|title= NAACP Files Federal Lawsuit Accusing Trump and Giuliani of Inciting U.S. Capitol Riot|url=https://naacp.org/latest/naacp-files-federal-lawsuit-accusing-trump-and-giuliani-of-inciting-u-s-capitol-riot/|access-date=2021-02-16|website=NAACP|language=en}}</ref> The February suit was filed against former President Donald Trump, [[Rudy Giuliani]], the [[Proud Boys]], and the [[Oath Keepers]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Mangan|first=Dan|date=2021-02-16|title=NAACP, House Homeland Security Committee chair sue Trump, Giuliani, Proud Boys, Oath Keepers, alleging Capitol riot conspiracy|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2021/02/16/naacp-sues-trump-giuliani-alleging-conspiracy-to-incite-capitol-riot.html|access-date=2021-02-16|website=CNBC|language=en}}</ref> It alleges violations of the act pertaining to attempts to reject certification of the election results during the [[2021 United States Electoral College vote count]], as well as alleging conspiracy to incite violence leading to the [[2021 United States Capitol attack]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Rowland|first=Geoffrey|date=2021-02-16|title=NAACP, Rep. Bennie Thompson sue Trump, Giuliani over Capitol riot|url=https://thehill.com/homenews/house/538969-naacp-rep-bennie-thompson-sue-trump-giuliani-over-capitol-riot|access-date=2021-02-16|website=TheHill|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=King|first=Maya|title=NAACP sues Trump and Giuliani after Jan. 6 riots|url=https://www.politico.com/news/2021/02/16/naacp-trump-giuliani-capitol-riots-469077|access-date=2021-02-16|website=Politico|language=en}}</ref> Following lawsuits filed by Thompson and Swalwell, the [[Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law]] filed its complaint on behalf of seven officers working with [[United States Capitol Police]] accusing Trump, [[Roger Stone]], Proud Boys, Stop the Steal, Oath Keepers and other persons who conspired to attack the Capitol under the same act and the D.C. Bias-Related Crimes Act.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.axios.com/capitol-police-officers-sue-trump-jan-6-riot-3b2d0ceb-2185-46c9-b689-5f507d3abbd8.html|title=Seven Capitol Police officers sue Trump over Jan. 6 riot|last=Knutson|first=Jacob|publisher=Axios.com|date=2021-08-25|access-date=2021-08-26}}</ref> On February 2, 2022, Vindman sued several Trump allies, alleging that they intimidated and retaliated against him while he testified in Congress, and thereby violated the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871. The defendants in the lawsuit are Donald Trump Jr., Rudy Giuliani, former White House deputy chief of staff Dan Scavino, and former White House deputy communications director Julia Hahn.<ref>{{cite news |last=Wang |first=Amy B |date=February 2, 2022 |title=Alexander Vindman sues Trump Jr. and Giuliani, alleging retaliation over first Trump impeachment proceedings|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/02/02/alexander-vindman-sues-trump-jr-giuliani-retaliation-over-first-trump-impeachment-trial/ |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |access-date=February 3, 2022 }}</ref> |
In February 2021, the NAACP and law firm [[Cohen Milstein]] filed another lawsuit invoking the act on behalf of U.S. Representative [[Bennie Thompson]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-03-24|title=Trump and Trump Jr hire lawyer to defend them in Capitol riot lawsuit|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-hire-lawyer-capitol-riot-lawsuit-b1821885.html|access-date=2021-03-28|website=The Independent|language=en}}</ref> Other congresspersons were to join the litigation as plaintiffs.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Karni|first=Annie|date=2021-02-16|title=N.A.A.C.P. Sues Trump and Giuliani Over Election Fight and Jan. 6 Riot|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/16/us/politics/naacp-sues-trump-giuliani-proud-boys-capitol.html|access-date=2021-02-16|issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-02-16|title= NAACP Files Federal Lawsuit Accusing Trump and Giuliani of Inciting U.S. Capitol Riot|url=https://naacp.org/latest/naacp-files-federal-lawsuit-accusing-trump-and-giuliani-of-inciting-u-s-capitol-riot/|access-date=2021-02-16|website=NAACP|language=en}}</ref> The February suit was filed against former President Donald Trump, [[Rudy Giuliani]], the [[Proud Boys]], and the [[Oath Keepers]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Mangan|first=Dan|date=2021-02-16|title=NAACP, House Homeland Security Committee chair sue Trump, Giuliani, Proud Boys, Oath Keepers, alleging Capitol riot conspiracy|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2021/02/16/naacp-sues-trump-giuliani-alleging-conspiracy-to-incite-capitol-riot.html|access-date=2021-02-16|website=CNBC|language=en}}</ref> It alleges violations of the act pertaining to attempts to reject certification of the election results during the [[2021 United States Electoral College vote count]], as well as alleging conspiracy to incite violence leading to the [[2021 United States Capitol attack]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Rowland|first=Geoffrey|date=2021-02-16|title=NAACP, Rep. Bennie Thompson sue Trump, Giuliani over Capitol riot|url=https://thehill.com/homenews/house/538969-naacp-rep-bennie-thompson-sue-trump-giuliani-over-capitol-riot|access-date=2021-02-16|website=TheHill|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=King|first=Maya|title=NAACP sues Trump and Giuliani after Jan. 6 riots|url=https://www.politico.com/news/2021/02/16/naacp-trump-giuliani-capitol-riots-469077|access-date=2021-02-16|website=Politico|date=February 16, 2021 |language=en}}</ref> Following lawsuits filed by Thompson and Swalwell, the [[Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law]] filed its complaint on behalf of seven officers working with [[United States Capitol Police]] accusing Trump, [[Roger Stone]], Proud Boys, Stop the Steal, Oath Keepers and other persons who conspired to attack the Capitol under the same act and the D.C. Bias-Related Crimes Act.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.axios.com/capitol-police-officers-sue-trump-jan-6-riot-3b2d0ceb-2185-46c9-b689-5f507d3abbd8.html|title=Seven Capitol Police officers sue Trump over Jan. 6 riot|last=Knutson|first=Jacob|publisher=Axios.com|date=2021-08-25|access-date=2021-08-26}}</ref> On February 2, 2022, Vindman sued several Trump allies, alleging that they intimidated and retaliated against him while he testified in Congress, and thereby violated the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871. The defendants in the lawsuit are [[Donald Trump Jr.]], Rudy Giuliani, former White House deputy chief of staff [[Dan Scavino]], and former White House deputy communications director Julia Hahn.<ref>{{cite news |last=Wang |first=Amy B |date=February 2, 2022 |title=Alexander Vindman sues Trump Jr. and Giuliani, alleging retaliation over first Trump impeachment proceedings|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/02/02/alexander-vindman-sues-trump-jr-giuliani-retaliation-over-first-trump-impeachment-trial/ |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |access-date=February 3, 2022 }}</ref> |
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== Section 1 (42 USC § 1983) == |
== Section 1 (42 USC § 1983) == |
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Section 1 of the Act, which has since been amended and codified at [[42 U.S.C.]] § 1983 and is now known as "Section 1983", authorized monetary and injunctive relief against anyone who, acting under the authority of state law, deprived a person of |
Section 1 of the Act, which has since been amended and codified at [[42 U.S.C.]] § 1983 and is now known as "Section 1983", authorized monetary and injunctive relief against anyone who, acting under the authority of state law, deprived a person of rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution or federal law.{{sfnm |1a1=Primus |1a2=Kistler |1y=2020 |1p=152 |2a1=Macfarlane |2y=2018 |2p=661 |3a1=Sobieski |3y=2017 |3pp=152–153 |4a1=Joyner |4y=2003| 4pp=428, 436}} |
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Section 1983 is the most prominent and commonly-litigated civil rights statute.{{sfnm |1a1=Macfarlane |1y=2018 |1p=660 |2a1=Sobieski |2y=2017 |2p=152 |3a1=Smith |3y=2004 |3p=139 n. 48}} |
Section 1983 is the most prominent and commonly-litigated civil rights statute.{{sfnm |1a1=Macfarlane |1y=2018 |1p=660 |2a1=Sobieski |2y=2017 |2p=152 |3a1=Smith |3y=2004 |3p=139 n. 48}} |
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{{Quotation|Every person who under color of any statute, ordinance, regulation, custom, or usage, of any [[U.S. state|State]] or [[Territory of the United States|Territory]] or the [[District of Columbia]], subjects, or causes to be subjected, any [[citizen of the United States]] or other person within the [[jurisdiction]] thereof to the deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the [[U.S. Constitution|Constitution]] and [[Law of the United States|laws]], shall be liable to the party injured in an action at law, Suit in equity, or other proper proceeding for redress, except that in any action brought against a judicial officer for an act or omission taken in such officer's judicial capacity, injunctive relief shall not be granted unless a declaratory decree was violated or declaratory relief was unavailable. For the purposes of this section, any Act of Congress applicable exclusively to the District of Columbia shall be considered to be a statute of the District of Columbia.}} |
{{Quotation|Every person who under color of any statute, ordinance, regulation, custom, or usage, of any [[U.S. state|State]] or [[Territory of the United States|Territory]] or the [[District of Columbia]], subjects, or causes to be subjected, any [[citizen of the United States]] or other person within the [[jurisdiction]] thereof to the deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the [[U.S. Constitution|Constitution]] and [[Law of the United States|laws]], shall be liable to the party injured in an action at law, Suit in equity, or other proper proceeding for redress, except that in any action brought against a judicial officer for an act or omission taken in such officer's judicial capacity, injunctive relief shall not be granted unless a declaratory decree was violated or declaratory relief was unavailable. For the purposes of this section, any Act of Congress applicable exclusively to the District of Columbia shall be considered to be a statute of the District of Columbia.}} |
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Section 1983 made relief—in the form of monetary damages—available to those whose constitutional rights ''had been violated'' by a person acting under [[State actor|State authority]]. Normally, constitutional rights violations are remedied by specific performance including injunctions by the courts.{{citation needed|date=May 2016}} Thus, if a person's right to due process was violated by a [[prison guard]] who was said to be acting under the authority of the state, under § 1983, that person could bring suit for monetary damages against the prison guard. Without § 1983, that person would have to seek an injunction by the courts for the due process violation. The problem with such an action by the court is that injunctions, which instruct a party on penalty of contempt to perform or refrain from performing some action, cannot apply to past harm, only future harm. So, essentially the person would have an actionable cause—the constitutional violation—with no adequate remedy. Most § 1983 claims are brought against prison officials by prisoners, but prisoner claims are usually dismissed as being without merit. Claims can be brought by anyone stating a proper cause of action. |
Section 1983 made relief—in the form of monetary damages—available to those whose constitutional rights and laws ''had been violated'' by a person acting under [[State actor|State authority]]. Normally, constitutional rights and laws violations are remedied by specific performance including injunctions by the courts.{{citation needed|date=May 2016}} Thus, if a person's right to due process was violated by a [[prison guard]] who was said to be acting under the authority of the state, under § 1983, that person could bring suit for monetary damages against the prison guard. Without § 1983, that person would have to seek an injunction by the courts for the due process violation. The problem with such an action by the court is that injunctions, which instruct a party on penalty of contempt to perform or refrain from performing some action, cannot apply to past harm, only future harm. So, essentially the person would have an actionable cause—the constitutional violation—with no adequate remedy. Most § 1983 claims are brought against prison officials by prisoners, but prisoner claims are usually dismissed as being without merit. Claims can be brought by anyone stating a proper cause of action. |
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Circumstances changed in 1961 when the [[United States Supreme Court|Supreme Court of the United States]] articulated three purposes that underlie the statute: "1) 'to override certain kinds of [[U.S. state|state]] laws'; 2) to provide 'a remedy where state law was inadequate'; and 3) to provide 'a federal remedy where the state remedy, though adequate in theory, was not available in practice.' "<ref>''[[Monroe v. Pape]]'', 365 U.S. 167 (1961).</ref><ref>Blum & Urbonya, Section 1983 Litigation, p. 2 (Federal Judicial Center, 1998) (quoting ''[[Monroe v. Pape]]''). ''Pape'' opened the door for renewed interest in § 1983 among American legal scholars.</ref> A §1983 claim requires according to the United States Supreme Court in ''[[Adickes v. S. H. Kress & Co.]]'' (1970) two elements for recovery: (1) the plaintiff must prove that the defendant has deprived him of a right secured by the, "constitution and laws," of the US, and (2) the plaintiff must show that the defendant deprived him of this constitutional right 'under color of any statute, ordinance, regulation, custom, or usage, of any State or Territory' (under color of law).<ref name="adickes">Adickes v. S. H. Kress & Co., 398 U.S. 144, 90 S. Ct. 1598, 26 L. Ed. 2d 142 (1970)</ref> |
Circumstances changed in 1961 when the [[United States Supreme Court|Supreme Court of the United States]] articulated three purposes that underlie the statute: "1) 'to override certain kinds of [[U.S. state|state]] laws'; 2) to provide 'a remedy where state law was inadequate'; and 3) to provide 'a federal remedy where the state remedy, though adequate in theory, was not available in practice.' "<ref>''[[Monroe v. Pape]]'', 365 U.S. 167 (1961).</ref><ref>Blum & Urbonya, Section 1983 Litigation, p. 2 (Federal Judicial Center, 1998) (quoting ''[[Monroe v. Pape]]''). ''Pape'' opened the door for renewed interest in § 1983 among American legal scholars.</ref> A §1983 claim requires according to the United States Supreme Court in ''[[Adickes v. S. H. Kress & Co.]]'' (1970) two elements for recovery: (1) the plaintiff must prove that the defendant has deprived him of a right secured by the, "constitution and laws," of the US, and (2) the plaintiff must show that the defendant deprived him of this constitutional right 'under color of any statute, ordinance, regulation, custom, or usage, of any State or Territory' (under color of law).<ref name="adickes">Adickes v. S. H. Kress & Co., 398 U.S. 144, 90 S. Ct. 1598, 26 L. Ed. 2d 142 (1970)</ref> |
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Section 3 authorized the president to use the military to suppress domestic violence and conspiracies to deprive people of their constitutional rights.{{sfnm |1a1=Smith |1y=2004 |1p=138 n. 46 |2a1=Joyner |2y=2003|2p=436 |3a1=Bitensky |3y=2001 |3p=341}} |
Section 3 authorized the president to use the military to suppress domestic violence and conspiracies to deprive people of their constitutional rights.{{sfnm |1a1=Smith |1y=2004 |1p=138 n. 46 |2a1=Joyner |2y=2003|2p=436 |3a1=Bitensky |3y=2001 |3p=341}} |
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Section 4 authorized the president to suspend the [[Habeas corpus in the United States|writ of habeas corpus]] to suppress a rebellion.{{sfnm |1a1=Smith |1y=2004 |1p=138 n.46 |2a1=Joyner |2y=2003|2pp=436–437 |3a1=Bitensky |3y=2001 |3p=341}} |
Section 4 authorized the president to suspend the [[Habeas corpus in the United States|writ of ''habeas corpus'']] to suppress a rebellion.{{sfnm |1a1=Smith |1y=2004 |1p=138 n.46 |2a1=Joyner |2y=2003|2pp=436–437 |3a1=Bitensky |3y=2001 |3p=341}} |
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This section expired after one year.{{sfn|White|2017|p=86}} |
This section expired after one year.{{sfn|White|2017|p=86}} |
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It was also used in the 1969 case of ''[[Tinker v. Des Moines]]''. By the time Beth Tinker was in school, the law had expanded to make school boards liable if they stood in the way of people's federally protected rights. |
It was also used in the 1969 case of ''[[Tinker v. Des Moines]]''. By the time Beth Tinker was in school, the law had expanded to make school boards liable if they stood in the way of people's federally protected rights. |
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Today, the 1871 Civil Rights Act can be invoked whenever a state actor violates a federally guaranteed right. The most common use today is to redress violations of the [[Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution|Fourth Amendment]]'s protection against [[unreasonable search and seizure]].{{citation needed|date=May 2016}} Such lawsuits concern [[false arrest]] and [[police brutality]], most notably in the [[Rodney King|Rodney King case]]. The rise of the [[Black Lives Matter]] movement along with smart phone video cameras have made Section 1983 lawsuits easier to obtain because of technological advances, including bodycams worn by law enforcement.{{CN}} |
Today, the 1871 Civil Rights Act can be invoked whenever a state actor violates a federally guaranteed right. The most common use today is to redress violations of the [[Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution|Fourth Amendment]]'s protection against [[unreasonable search and seizure]].{{citation needed|date=May 2016}} Such lawsuits concern [[false arrest]] and [[police brutality]], most notably in the [[Rodney King|Rodney King case]]. The rise of the [[Black Lives Matter]] movement along with smart phone video cameras have made Section 1983 lawsuits easier to obtain because of technological advances, including bodycams worn by law enforcement.{{CN|date=June 2023}} |
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The Act was invoked in the 2010 ''[[Robbins v. Lower Merion School District]]'' case, where plaintiffs charged two suburban Philadelphia high schools secretly spied on students by surreptitiously and remotely activating webcams embedded in school-issued laptops the students were using at home, violating their right to privacy. The schools admitted to snapping over 66,000 webshots and screenshots secretly, including webcam shots of students in their bedrooms.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://content.usatoday.com/communities/ondeadline/post/2010/02/school-district-accused-of-issuing-webcam-laptops-to-spy-on-students/1|author=Doug Stanglin|title=School district accused of spying on kids via laptop webcams|date=February 18, 2010|work=[[USA Today]]|access-date=February 19, 2010|archive-date=September 13, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120913050816/http://content.usatoday.com/communities/ondeadline/post/2010/02/school-district-accused-of-issuing-webcam-laptops-to-spy-on-students/1|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= http://lmsd.org/documents/news/100503_l3_report.pdf |title=Lower Merion School District Forensics Analysis, Initial LANrev System Findings |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100615100827/http://lmsd.org/documents/news/100503_l3_report.pdf |publisher=Lower Merion School District |archive-date=June 15, 2010 |work=L-3 Computer Forensics and eDiscovery |quote=prepared for [[Ballard Spahr]] (LMSD's counsel), May 2010 |access-date=August 15, 2010}}</ref> |
The Act was invoked in the 2010 ''[[Robbins v. Lower Merion School District]]'' case, where plaintiffs charged two suburban Philadelphia high schools secretly spied on students by surreptitiously and remotely activating webcams embedded in school-issued laptops the students were using at home, violating their right to privacy. The schools admitted to snapping over 66,000 webshots and screenshots secretly, including webcam shots of students in their bedrooms.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://content.usatoday.com/communities/ondeadline/post/2010/02/school-district-accused-of-issuing-webcam-laptops-to-spy-on-students/1|author=Doug Stanglin|title=School district accused of spying on kids via laptop webcams|date=February 18, 2010|work=[[USA Today]]|access-date=February 19, 2010|archive-date=September 13, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120913050816/http://content.usatoday.com/communities/ondeadline/post/2010/02/school-district-accused-of-issuing-webcam-laptops-to-spy-on-students/1|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= http://lmsd.org/documents/news/100503_l3_report.pdf |title=Lower Merion School District Forensics Analysis, Initial LANrev System Findings |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100615100827/http://lmsd.org/documents/news/100503_l3_report.pdf |publisher=Lower Merion School District |archive-date=June 15, 2010 |work=L-3 Computer Forensics and eDiscovery |quote=prepared for [[Ballard Spahr]] (LMSD's counsel), May 2010 |access-date=August 15, 2010}}</ref> |
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On February 16, 2021, the Act was asserted in an action<ref name="thompson">{{cite news |title=Thompson v. Trump, et al. (complaint) |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/context/thompson-v-trump-et-al/ee4a2b71-cdf1-4f64-9778-422dbd480172/?itid=lk_inline_manual_1&itid=lk_inline_manual_4 |newspaper=Washington Post |access-date=27 August 2021}}</ref> in the [[United States District Court for the District of Columbia|District Court, D.C.]], by [[Bennie Thompson|Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D, MS2)]], chair of the [[United States House Committee on Homeland Security|House Homeland Security Committee]] (in his personal capacity) against [[Donald Trump|former President Donald Trump]] (in his personal capacity), Trump's attorney [[Rudolph Giuliani]] and ([[American militia movement|far-right "militia" groups]]) [[Proud Boys]] and [[Oath Keepers]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Trickey |first1=Erick |title=The 150-year-old Ku Klux Klan Act being used against Trump in Capitol attack |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2021/02/18/ku-klux-klan-act-capitol-attack/ |access-date=27 August 2021 |newspaper=Washington Post |date=18 Feb 2021}}</ref> |
On February 16, 2021, the Act was asserted in an action<ref name="thompson">{{cite news |title=Thompson v. Trump, et al. (complaint) |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/context/thompson-v-trump-et-al/ee4a2b71-cdf1-4f64-9778-422dbd480172/?itid=lk_inline_manual_1&itid=lk_inline_manual_4 |newspaper=Washington Post |access-date=27 August 2021}}</ref> in the [[United States District Court for the District of Columbia|District Court, D.C.]], by [[Bennie Thompson|Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D, MS2)]], chair of the [[United States House Committee on Homeland Security|House Homeland Security Committee]] (in his personal capacity) against [[Donald Trump|former President Donald Trump]] (in his personal capacity), Trump's attorney [[Rudolph Giuliani]] and ([[American militia movement|far-right "militia" groups]]) [[Proud Boys]] and [[Oath Keepers]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Trickey |first1=Erick |title=The 150-year-old Ku Klux Klan Act being used against Trump in Capitol attack |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2021/02/18/ku-klux-klan-act-capitol-attack/ |access-date=27 August 2021 |newspaper=Washington Post |date=18 Feb 2021}}</ref> |
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The Thompson v. Trump., et al. case<ref name="thompson" /> was followed by a subsequent action filed August 26, 2021, by seven [[Capitol police|Capitol Police officers]], reportedly against the same defendants.<ref>{{cite news |title=Capitol Police officers claim Trump, allies violated Ku Klux Klan Act in new lawsuit |url=https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/national/capitol-riots/capitol-police-officers-sue-trump-allies-over-insurrection-oath-keepers-proud-boys-stewart-rhodes-enrique-tarrio-ali-alexander/65-854ac33b-0359-45c4-9795-1e4bd8612506 |access-date=27 August 2021 |publisher=WUSA9, citing AP}}</ref> |
The ''[[Thompson v. Trump|Thompson v. Trump., et al.]]'' case<ref name="thompson" /> was followed by a subsequent action filed August 26, 2021, by seven [[Capitol police|Capitol Police officers]], reportedly against the same defendants.<ref>{{cite news |title=Capitol Police officers claim Trump, allies violated Ku Klux Klan Act in new lawsuit |url=https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/national/capitol-riots/capitol-police-officers-sue-trump-allies-over-insurrection-oath-keepers-proud-boys-stewart-rhodes-enrique-tarrio-ali-alexander/65-854ac33b-0359-45c4-9795-1e4bd8612506 |access-date=27 August 2021 |publisher=WUSA9, citing AP}}</ref> |
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==See also== |
==See also== |
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* [https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/18/242.html 18 U.S.C. § 242] is "the criminal analog of 1983." |
* [https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/18/242.html 18 U.S.C. § 242] is "the criminal analog of 1983." |
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{{Voting rights in the United States}} |
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{{Ulysses S. Grant|state=collapsed}} |
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[[Category:1871 in American law]] |
[[Category:1871 in American law]] |
Latest revision as of 14:43, 1 August 2024
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Long title | An Act to enforce the Provisions of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, and for other Purposes |
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Nicknames | Civil Rights Act of 1871,[citation needed] Ku Klux Klan Act, Third Enforcement Act[1] |
Enacted by | the 42nd United States Congress |
Citations | |
Public law | 42−22 |
Statutes at Large | ch. 22, 17 Stat. 13 |
Legislative history | |
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United States Supreme Court cases | |
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The Enforcement Act of 1871 (17 Stat. 13), also known as the Ku Klux Klan Act, Third Enforcement Act,[1] Third Ku Klux Klan Act,[2] Civil Rights Act of 1871, or Force Act of 1871,[3] is an Act of the United States Congress that was intended to combat the paramilitary vigilantism of the Ku Klux Klan. The act made certain acts committed by private persons federal offenses including conspiring to deprive citizens of their rights to hold office, serve on juries, or enjoy the equal protection of law. The Act authorized the President to deploy federal troops to counter the Klan and to suspend the writ of habeas corpus to make arrests without charge.[4][5]
The act was passed by the 42nd United States Congress and signed into law by President Ulysses S. Grant on April 20, 1871. The act was the last of three Enforcement Acts passed by Congress from 1870 to 1871 during the Reconstruction Era to combat attacks upon the suffrage rights of African Americans. The statute has been subject to only minor changes since then, but has been the subject of voluminous interpretation by courts.
This legislation was asked for by President Grant and passed within one month of when he sent the request to Congress. Grant's request was a result of the reports he was receiving of widespread racial threats in the Deep South, particularly in South Carolina. He felt that he needed to have his authority broadened before he could effectively intervene. After the act's passage, the president had the power for the first time to both suppress state disorders on his own initiative and to suspend the writ of habeas corpus. Grant did not hesitate to use this authority on numerous occasions during his presidency, and as a result the KKK was completely dismantled (ending the "first Klan" era) and did not resurface in any meaningful way until the beginning of the 20th century.[6]
Several of the act's provisions still exist today as codified statutes. The most important of these is 42 U.S.C. § 1983: Civil action for deprivation of rights. It is the most widely used civil rights enforcement statute, allowing people to sue in civil court over civil rights violations.
History
[edit]In response to political violence by the Ku Klux Klan and others during the Reconstruction era following the American Civil War, Congress passed three Enforcement Acts giving the federal government broader powers to guarantee citizens' constitutional rights. The third of these acts, enacted in April 1871, gave the president the power to imprison people without a trial (known as suspending the writ of habeas corpus) and to use the federal military on domestic soil to enforce constitutional rights, among other measures.[7]
In January 1871, Republican Senator John Scott of Pennsylvania convened a congressional committee to hear testimony from witnesses of Klan atrocities. In February, Republican Congressman Benjamin Franklin Butler of Massachusetts introduced his anti-Klan bill, intended to enforce both the Fourteenth Amendment and the Civil Rights Act of 1866. Butler's bill was narrowly defeated in the House, whereupon Republican Rep. Samuel Shellabarger, of Ohio, introduced a substitute bill, only slightly less sweeping than Butler's original. This bill brought a few holdout Republicans into line, and the bill narrowly passed the House, sailed through the Senate, and was signed into law on April 20 by President Grant.[8]
Use during Reconstruction
[edit]After the Civil War, President Ulysses S. Grant conducted an aggressive—and ultimately successful—campaign against the Ku Klux Klan and its offshoots (such as the Knights of the White Camellia) from the 1860s to the 1870s. Grant deployed federal soldiers to arrest Klan members, enlisted U.S. attorneys to try their cases, supported Congressional legislation like the Ku Klux Klan Act, and organized federal judges to oversee Klan trials.[9] Under the Klan Act during Reconstruction, federal troops, rather than state militias, were used to enforce the law, and Klansmen were prosecuted in federal court, where juries were sometimes predominantly black. Hundreds of Klan members were fined or imprisoned, and habeas corpus was suspended in nine counties in South Carolina. These efforts were so successful that the Klan was destroyed in South Carolina and decimated throughout the rest of the former Confederacy, where it had already been in decline for several years. The Klan was not to exist again until its renewal in 1915. During its brief existence, however, the "first era" Klan did achieve many of its goals in the South, such as denying voting rights to Southern blacks.[8]
In its early history, under the Grant Administration, this act was used, along with the Force Act, to bring to justice those who were violating the Civil Rights of newly freed African Americans. After the end of the Grant Administration, and the dismantling of Reconstruction under Rutherford B. Hayes, enforcement of the Act fell into disuse and few cases were brought under the statute for almost a hundred years.
Use during and after presidency of Donald Trump
[edit]In December 2020, the NAACP along with the Michigan Welfare Rights Organization and a group of Detroit voters sued U.S. President Donald Trump along with his presidential campaign and the Republican National Committee under the act as well as the Voting Rights Act.[10][11][12] According to the lawsuit, President Trump and the Republican Party "coordinated conspiracy to disenfranchise Black voters" through legal actions intended to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in Michigan, Georgia and Pennsylvania via "intimidation and coercion of election officials and volunteers".[11]
In February 2021, the NAACP and law firm Cohen Milstein filed another lawsuit invoking the act on behalf of U.S. Representative Bennie Thompson.[13] Other congresspersons were to join the litigation as plaintiffs.[14][15] The February suit was filed against former President Donald Trump, Rudy Giuliani, the Proud Boys, and the Oath Keepers.[16] It alleges violations of the act pertaining to attempts to reject certification of the election results during the 2021 United States Electoral College vote count, as well as alleging conspiracy to incite violence leading to the 2021 United States Capitol attack.[17][18] Following lawsuits filed by Thompson and Swalwell, the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law filed its complaint on behalf of seven officers working with United States Capitol Police accusing Trump, Roger Stone, Proud Boys, Stop the Steal, Oath Keepers and other persons who conspired to attack the Capitol under the same act and the D.C. Bias-Related Crimes Act.[19] On February 2, 2022, Vindman sued several Trump allies, alleging that they intimidated and retaliated against him while he testified in Congress, and thereby violated the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871. The defendants in the lawsuit are Donald Trump Jr., Rudy Giuliani, former White House deputy chief of staff Dan Scavino, and former White House deputy communications director Julia Hahn.[20]
Section 1 (42 USC § 1983)
[edit]Section 1 of the Act, which has since been amended and codified at 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and is now known as "Section 1983", authorized monetary and injunctive relief against anyone who, acting under the authority of state law, deprived a person of rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution or federal law.[21] Section 1983 is the most prominent and commonly-litigated civil rights statute.[22]
42 U.S.C. § 1983 now reads:[23]
Every person who under color of any statute, ordinance, regulation, custom, or usage, of any State or Territory or the District of Columbia, subjects, or causes to be subjected, any citizen of the United States or other person within the jurisdiction thereof to the deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the Constitution and laws, shall be liable to the party injured in an action at law, Suit in equity, or other proper proceeding for redress, except that in any action brought against a judicial officer for an act or omission taken in such officer's judicial capacity, injunctive relief shall not be granted unless a declaratory decree was violated or declaratory relief was unavailable. For the purposes of this section, any Act of Congress applicable exclusively to the District of Columbia shall be considered to be a statute of the District of Columbia.
Section 1983 made relief—in the form of monetary damages—available to those whose constitutional rights and laws had been violated by a person acting under State authority. Normally, constitutional rights and laws violations are remedied by specific performance including injunctions by the courts.[citation needed] Thus, if a person's right to due process was violated by a prison guard who was said to be acting under the authority of the state, under § 1983, that person could bring suit for monetary damages against the prison guard. Without § 1983, that person would have to seek an injunction by the courts for the due process violation. The problem with such an action by the court is that injunctions, which instruct a party on penalty of contempt to perform or refrain from performing some action, cannot apply to past harm, only future harm. So, essentially the person would have an actionable cause—the constitutional violation—with no adequate remedy. Most § 1983 claims are brought against prison officials by prisoners, but prisoner claims are usually dismissed as being without merit. Claims can be brought by anyone stating a proper cause of action.
Circumstances changed in 1961 when the Supreme Court of the United States articulated three purposes that underlie the statute: "1) 'to override certain kinds of state laws'; 2) to provide 'a remedy where state law was inadequate'; and 3) to provide 'a federal remedy where the state remedy, though adequate in theory, was not available in practice.' "[24][25] A §1983 claim requires according to the United States Supreme Court in Adickes v. S. H. Kress & Co. (1970) two elements for recovery: (1) the plaintiff must prove that the defendant has deprived him of a right secured by the, "constitution and laws," of the US, and (2) the plaintiff must show that the defendant deprived him of this constitutional right 'under color of any statute, ordinance, regulation, custom, or usage, of any State or Territory' (under color of law).[26]
Now the statute stands as one of the most powerful authorities with which state and federal courts may protect those whose rights are deprived.[27] Section 1983 of the 1871 Civil Rights Act provides a way individuals can sue to redress when their federally protected rights are violated, like the First Amendment rights and the Due Process Clause and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Section 1983 can be used to redress violated rights based on the federal Constitution and federal statutes, such as the prohibition of public sector employment discrimination based on race, color, national origin, sex, and religion.
In some jurisdictions,[which?] § 1983 has been applied directly to private employers when litigants have sued under this act. It can also be applied in virtually all jurisdictions in a more indirect manner to private employers if they are acting under state or federal authority. For example, if an additional private security company is hired by the police for an event and are given authority by the police, and, during the event, the security company violates a participant's First Amendment right, they can be sued under § 1983.[citation needed]
Section 2 (42 USC § 1985)
[edit]Targeted directly at the Klan and containing some two dozen clauses, Section 2 was longer than Section 1 and received more attention from Congress during debates.[28] It prohibited conspiracies to overthrow the federal government, levy war against the United States, steal federal property, and a number of other acts.[29]
Section 2 originally provided for both criminal and civil liability, but the criminal component was later found unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in the 1883 case United States v. Harris, and ultimately repealed by Congress.[30] The civil liability portion of Section 2 survived with amendments later codified at 42 U.S.C. § 1985, known as "Section 1985". Section 1985 authorizes lawsuits against people who conspire to commit certain prohibited acts, such as interfering with government, obstructing justice, or depriving a person of equal protection under the law.[31]
Section 1985(1) covers conspiracies to violently prevent a public official from taking office or to "molest, interrupt, hinder, or impede" the discharge of official duties, among other acts.[32] Section 1985(2) addresses conspiracies to harm or threaten witnesses and jurors in federal courts, or to otherwise interfere with court proceedings, "with intent to deny to any citizen the equal protection of the laws".[33]
In a reference to the Klan's practice of wearing face-covering hoods, Section 1985(3) prohibits two or more people from traveling in disguise or otherwise conspiring to deprive a person or class of people of equal protection of the law or other legal rights.[34] In addition, Section 1985(3) contains the "support-or-advocacy clauses", which cover conspiracies to harm citizens because of their support or advocacy for a federal candidate for public office.[35]
Section 6 (42 USC § 1986)
[edit]Section 6 of the Act, now codified at 42 U.S.C. § 1986 and known as "Section 1986", imposes civil liability upon persons who know of a violation of Section 1985 or a planned violation of Section 1985, and who are in a position to prevent it, but who fail to prevent it, fail to attempt to prevent it, or fail to assist in its prevention.[36] While the other sections create a remedy against conspirators who deprived people of their rights, Section 1986 creates a remedy against persons whose acquiescence make such conspiracies possible. Legislators recognized that the Klan's political violence could not continue without tacit approval from local community leaders, and sought to stop the Klan by making community leaders financially responsible for terrorist acts they knowingly fail to prevent. This section of the Act has been rarely invoked since its enactment, but is used to combat terrorism in modern times by providing a "disincentive to those who would protect or foster conspiratorial terrorist acts".[37]
Other provisions
[edit]Section 3 authorized the president to use the military to suppress domestic violence and conspiracies to deprive people of their constitutional rights.[38]
Section 4 authorized the president to suspend the writ of habeas corpus to suppress a rebellion.[39] This section expired after one year.[40]
Section 5 barred persons violating the Act from sitting as jurors in any proceeding under the Act, and imposed an oath upon jurors not to violate the Act.[41]
Section 7 provided, "nothing herein contained shall be construed to supersede or repeal any former act or law except so far as the same may be repugnant thereto", and that prosecutions "shall be continued and completed, the same as if this act had not been passed, except so far as the provisions of this act may go to sustain and validate such proceedings".[42]
Jurisprudence
[edit]Although some provisions were ruled unconstitutional in 1883,[43] the 1870 Force Act and the 1871 Civil Rights Act have been invoked in later civil rights conflicts, including the 1964 murders of Chaney, Goodman, and Schwerner; the 1965 murder of Viola Liuzzo; and in Bray v. Alexandria Women's Health Clinic, 506 U.S. 263 (1993), in which the court ruled that "The first clause of 1985(3) does not provide a federal cause of action against persons obstructing access to abortion clinics."
It was also used in the 1969 case of Tinker v. Des Moines. By the time Beth Tinker was in school, the law had expanded to make school boards liable if they stood in the way of people's federally protected rights.
Today, the 1871 Civil Rights Act can be invoked whenever a state actor violates a federally guaranteed right. The most common use today is to redress violations of the Fourth Amendment's protection against unreasonable search and seizure.[citation needed] Such lawsuits concern false arrest and police brutality, most notably in the Rodney King case. The rise of the Black Lives Matter movement along with smart phone video cameras have made Section 1983 lawsuits easier to obtain because of technological advances, including bodycams worn by law enforcement.[citation needed]
The Act was invoked in the 2010 Robbins v. Lower Merion School District case, where plaintiffs charged two suburban Philadelphia high schools secretly spied on students by surreptitiously and remotely activating webcams embedded in school-issued laptops the students were using at home, violating their right to privacy. The schools admitted to snapping over 66,000 webshots and screenshots secretly, including webcam shots of students in their bedrooms.[44][45]
The 2019 Supreme Court case Nieves v. Bartlett ruled that in general when probable cause for an arrest exists it overrides a First Amendment retaliatory arrest claim arising under section 1983, but that there are some narrow exceptions to this. Because officers can exercise their discretion in making arrests for warrantless misdemeanor crimes, a plaintiff can succeed on a section 1983 claim if they can present objective evidence that other similarly situated individuals who were not engaged in protected speech had not been arrested.[46]
Also in 2019, the Court held that the 3-year statute of limitations for a fabrication of evidence civil lawsuit under section 1983 of the Civil Rights Act begins to run when the criminal case ends in the plaintiff's favor.[47]
In June 2020 the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit rejected qualified immunity for five Police officers in West Virginia who had kicked, beaten, tased, and finally killed Wayne A. Jones, by shooting him 22 times.[48]
On February 16, 2021, the Act was asserted in an action[49] in the District Court, D.C., by Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D, MS2), chair of the House Homeland Security Committee (in his personal capacity) against former President Donald Trump (in his personal capacity), Trump's attorney Rudolph Giuliani and (far-right "militia" groups) Proud Boys and Oath Keepers.[50]
The Thompson v. Trump., et al. case[49] was followed by a subsequent action filed August 26, 2021, by seven Capitol Police officers, reportedly against the same defendants.[51]
See also
[edit]- Antebellum South Carolina
- Kirk–Holden War, an 1870 struggle against the Klan in North Carolina
References
[edit]- ^ a b Davis, Abraham L.; Graham, Barbara Luck (1995). The Supreme Court, Race, and Civil Rights: From Marshall to Rehnquist. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications. p. 13. ISBN 9781452263793. Archived from the original on December 22, 2020. Retrieved November 27, 2020.
- ^ "The Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871 | US House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives". history.house.gov. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
- ^ "U.S. Senate: The Enforcement Acts of 1870 and 1871". www.senate.gov.
- ^ Keyssar, Alexander (June 30, 2009). The Right to Vote: The Contested History of Democracy in the United States. Hachette UK. ISBN 978-0-465-01014-1.
Acting as the military, or paramilitary, arm of the Democratic Party, organizations such as the Ku Klux Klan mounted violent campaigns against blacks who sought to vote or hold office, as well as their white Republican allies. In 1870 alone, hundreds of freedmen were killed, and many more badly hurt, by politicized vigilante violence...The national government did not stand by idly. In May 1870, stretching the limits of its constitutional powers, congress passed an Enforcement Act that made interference with voting a federal offense...This first enforcement act was followed by others including the Ku Klux Klan Act, which, among its provisions, authorized the president to deploy the army to protect the electoral process.
- ^ Blackburn, Robin (February 20, 2024). The Reckoning: From the Second Slavery to Abolition, 1776-1888. Verso Books. p. 352. ISBN 978-1-80429-341-6.
White vigilante groups intervened on the side of white employers to keep down wages and reduce the share of the crop claimed by black tenant farmers. Black schoolhouses were burned, and across the South hundreds of Republican activists were killed in the years 1868-71. Republicans in Congress responded to this wave of terrorist intimidation by passing civil rights legislation backed up by federal force in 1870 and 1871. The so-called Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871 empowered the president and army to crack down on the Klan; the suspension of habeas corpus and use of Federal Cavalry led to the arrest of thousands of Klansmen.
- ^ Scaturro, Frank (1999). President Grant Reconsidered. Lanham, MD: Madison Books. pp. 71–72. ISBN 1-56833-132-0.
- ^ White 2017, p. 190; Foner 2014, c. 9.
- ^ a b Trelease, Allen (1971). White Terror: The Ku Klux Klan Conspiracy and Southern Reconstruction. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press. pp. 387ff. ISBN 0-8071-1953-9.
- ^ Jones, Seth (November 7, 2018). "The Rise of Far-Right Extremism in the United States". www.csis.org. Center for Strategic & International Studies. Retrieved June 18, 2019.
- ^ Larry Spruill (November 21, 2020). "Michigan lawsuit claims Trump Campaign is attempting to disenfranchise Black voters". ClickOnDetroit.com. Retrieved February 24, 2021.
- ^ a b Sommerlad, Joe; Spocchia, Gino; O'Connell, Oliver (December 22, 2020). "Trump Sued for Breaking KKK Act". The Independent. Archived from the original on December 22, 2020. Retrieved December 22, 2020.
- ^ Neidig, Harper (December 22, 2020). "NAACP files suit accusing Trump, GOP of violating KKK Act". The Hill. Archived from the original on December 22, 2020. Retrieved December 22, 2020.
- ^ "Trump and Trump Jr hire lawyer to defend them in Capitol riot lawsuit". The Independent. March 24, 2021. Retrieved March 28, 2021.
- ^ Karni, Annie (February 16, 2021). "N.A.A.C.P. Sues Trump and Giuliani Over Election Fight and Jan. 6 Riot". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
- ^ "NAACP Files Federal Lawsuit Accusing Trump and Giuliani of Inciting U.S. Capitol Riot". NAACP. February 16, 2021. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
- ^ Mangan, Dan (February 16, 2021). "NAACP, House Homeland Security Committee chair sue Trump, Giuliani, Proud Boys, Oath Keepers, alleging Capitol riot conspiracy". CNBC. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
- ^ Rowland, Geoffrey (February 16, 2021). "NAACP, Rep. Bennie Thompson sue Trump, Giuliani over Capitol riot". TheHill. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
- ^ King, Maya (February 16, 2021). "NAACP sues Trump and Giuliani after Jan. 6 riots". Politico. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
- ^ Knutson, Jacob (August 25, 2021). "Seven Capitol Police officers sue Trump over Jan. 6 riot". Axios.com. Retrieved August 26, 2021.
- ^ Wang, Amy B (February 2, 2022). "Alexander Vindman sues Trump Jr. and Giuliani, alleging retaliation over first Trump impeachment proceedings". The Washington Post. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
- ^ Primus & Kistler 2020, p. 152; Macfarlane 2018, p. 661; Sobieski 2017, pp. 152–153; Joyner 2003, pp. 428, 436.
- ^ Macfarlane 2018, p. 660; Sobieski 2017, p. 152; Smith 2004, p. 139 n. 48.
- ^ Ross, Darrell L. (2003). Civil Liability in Criminal Justice Third Edition. Cincinnati: Anderson Publishing Co.
- ^ Monroe v. Pape, 365 U.S. 167 (1961).
- ^ Blum & Urbonya, Section 1983 Litigation, p. 2 (Federal Judicial Center, 1998) (quoting Monroe v. Pape). Pape opened the door for renewed interest in § 1983 among American legal scholars.
- ^ Adickes v. S. H. Kress & Co., 398 U.S. 144, 90 S. Ct. 1598, 26 L. Ed. 2d 142 (1970)
- ^ Macfarlane 2018.
- ^ Primus & Kistler 2020, p. 152; Macfarlane 2018, p. 660; Sobieski 2017, pp. 152–153.
- ^ Primus & Kistler 2020, p. 152; Bitensky 2001, p. 341.
- ^ LeRoy 2018, p. 123 n. 116; Smith 2004, p. 139 n. 49.
- ^ Primus & Kistler 2020, p. 152; Sobieski 2017, p. 153; Smith 2004, p. 139 n. 50; Joyner 2003, pp. 428, 447; Bitensky 2001, p. 341.
- ^ Primus & Kistler 2020, p. 152; Smith 2004, p. 139 n. 50.
- ^ Primus & Kistler 2020, p. 152; Smith 2004, p. 139 n. 51.
- ^ Primus & Kistler 2020, p. 152; LeRoy 2018, p. 123; Macfarlane 2018, p. 660; Sobieski 2017, p. 153; Smith 2004, pp. 130, 131 n. 9, 140 n. 52; Bitensky 2001, p. 341.
- ^ Primus & Kistler 2020, p. 152.
- ^ Sobieski 2017, p. 153; Joyner 2003, pp. 428, 447; Bitensky 2001, pp. 341–342.
- ^ Joyner 2003, p. 428.
- ^ Smith 2004, p. 138 n. 46; Joyner 2003, p. 436; Bitensky 2001, p. 341.
- ^ Smith 2004, p. 138 n.46; Joyner 2003, pp. 436–437; Bitensky 2001, p. 341.
- ^ White 2017, p. 86.
- ^ Bitensky 2001, pp. 341–342.
- ^ Section 7 of Pub.L. 42−22, 17 Stat. 13, enacted April 20, 1871.
- ^ "United States v. Harris, 106 U.S. 629 (1883)". Justia Law. Archived from the original on December 22, 2020. Retrieved July 2, 2019.
- ^ Doug Stanglin (February 18, 2010). "School district accused of spying on kids via laptop webcams". USA Today. Archived from the original on September 13, 2012. Retrieved February 19, 2010.
- ^ "Lower Merion School District Forensics Analysis, Initial LANrev System Findings" (PDF). L-3 Computer Forensics and eDiscovery. Lower Merion School District. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 15, 2010. Retrieved August 15, 2010.
prepared for Ballard Spahr (LMSD's counsel), May 2010
- ^ Nieves v. Bartlett, 587 USC ___, Syllabus 2-3 (Supreme Court May 28, 2019).
- ^ McDonough v. Smith, No. 18-485, 588 U.S. ___ (2019).
- ^ Sibilla, Nick (June 11, 2020). "Court Rejects Qualified Immunity For Cops Who Shot A "Motionless" Black Man 22 Times". Forbes magazine. Archived from the original on June 13, 2020. Retrieved June 13, 2020.
That proposal comes on the heels of the End Qualified Immunity Act, sponsored by Reps. Justin Amash (L-MI) and Ayanna Pressley (D-MA), which would end qualified immunity for all local and state government officials, not just police officers and prison guards.
- ^ a b "Thompson v. Trump, et al. (complaint)". Washington Post. Retrieved August 27, 2021.
- ^ Trickey, Erick (February 18, 2021). "The 150-year-old Ku Klux Klan Act being used against Trump in Capitol attack". Washington Post. Retrieved August 27, 2021.
- ^ "Capitol Police officers claim Trump, allies violated Ku Klux Klan Act in new lawsuit". WUSA9, citing AP. Retrieved August 27, 2021.
Works cited
[edit]- Bitensky, Susan (January 1, 2001). "Section 1983: Agent of Peace or Vehicle of Violence against Children?". Oklahoma Law Review. 54 (2). University of Oklahoma: 333–372. ISSN 2473-9111. (PDF)
- Foner, Eric (2014) [1988]. Reconstruction: America's unfinished revolution, 1863–1877. Harper Perennial Modern Classics (Updated EPub ed.). Harper Perennial. ISBN 978-0-06-238323-5. OCLC 897831071.
- Joyner, Rebecca (January 1, 2003). "An Old Law for a New World? Third-Party Liability for Terrorist Acts – From the Klan to Al Qaeda". Fordham Law Review. 72 (2). Fordham University School of Law: 427–476. (PDF)
- LeRoy, Michael H. (March 2018). "Targeting White Supremacy in the Workplace". Stanford Law & Policy Review. 29 (1). Stanford University: 107–158. (PDF Archived March 10, 2021, at the Wayback Machine)
- Macfarlane, Katherine (June 1, 2018). "Accelerated Civil Rights Settlements in the Shadow of Section 1983". Utah Law Review. 2018 (3). University of Utah: 639–670. ISSN 0042-1448. (PDF)
- Primus, Richard; Kistler, Cameron O. (2020). "The Support-or-Advocacy Clauses". Fordham Law Review. 89 (1). Fordham University School of Law: 145–193. (PDF)
- Smith, Catherine E. (2004). "(Un)Masking Race-Based Intra-Corporate Conspiracies Under the Ku Klux Klan Act". Virginia Journal of Social Policy & the Law. 11 (2). University of Virginia School of Law: 129–175. SSRN 999424.
- Sobieski, John L. Jr. (2017). "Civil Rights Act of 1871". In Scheb II, John M.; Stephens, Otis H. Jr.; Stooksbury, Kara Elizabeth (eds.). Encyclopedia of American Civil Rights and Liberties: Revised and Expanded Edition (2nd ed.). ABC-Clio. pp. 152–153. ISBN 978-1-4408-4110-1.
- White, Richard (2017). The Republic for which it stands: the United States during Reconstruction and the Gilded Age, 1865–1896. The Oxford history of the United States. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-973581-5. LCCN 2017002719. OCLC 973921077.
External links
[edit]![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/38px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png)
- Full text of the Enforcement of 1871 (simplified version)
- Text of Enforcement Act of 1871 as codified- 42 U.S. Code 21 §§1983, 1988
- 18 U.S.C. § 242 is "the criminal analog of 1983."
- 1871 in American law
- Anti-discrimination law in the United States
- History of African-American civil rights
- Reconstruction Era legislation
- Civil Rights Acts
- United States federal criminal legislation
- United States federal sovereign immunity case law
- 42nd United States Congress
- Second Enforcement Act of 1871 case law
- Ku Klux Klan
- Political crimes